June 30, 2017

Noosa is one of the more popular beach vacation towns in the south east region of Queensland, and we learned that the hard way during a visit on an extended weekend. We visited this place on the Good Friday weekend, and boy this place was crowded with no parking spots available anywhere. In the end after roaming for close to an hour trying to find a parking spot, we did park in a place but did end up with a fine :P.

The best spot in Noosa is definitely exploring the walking trails of the Noosa National Park, which runs along the coastline providing some awe inspiring views. There are multiple trails running through the national park (map here). We decided to take the much popular coastal track upto Hells Gate and return back via some shortcut. The day was perfect with mild temperature and sunny day, making it an enjoyable day for walking. The water right from the Noosa Heads was glistening under the sunshine in turquoise blue colour. Our plan was to walk around 5 km return.

The initial park of the walk is close to sea level, but slowly the elevation increases with the highest point being near the Hells Gate. The views on the other hand are spectacular and the best views again at Hells Gate, which gives a birds eye view of the Alexandria Bay. Apart from the views it was quite windy. Probably this would be a great lookout point for whale watching during the migration period. We then returned back and it took us close to 2.5 hrs for the entire walk.

Once we returned back from the walk we went to Laguna Lookout point which gives a birds eye view of the entire Noosa Heads area and the river. Spent time relaxing here and had our lunch. This spot was sparsely frequented by tourists.

The finale for our trip was to enjoy the waters of the Noosa Main beach. Luck finally smiled on us and we got a parking spot easily when we were at the right place at the right time. Others waiting along with us where not so lucky :P. We enjoyed the waters of the main beach, eventhough the waves were quite rough.

June 27, 2017

Mt Glorious is one of the nearest rainforest bushwalking tracks from the city of Brisbane, with it just being 40 kms from the city centre and a perfect getaway on an unplanned weekend. We had visited this area just the week after the cyclone Debbie had hit the Queensland coast and we could see a lot of damage on the road upto the Maiala Picnic area from where the track starts and also on the bushwalking track itself with lots of tree debris strewn across it, making it a bit of an obstacle race :).

Maiala Picnic area has plenty of parking spots and the drive upto this place is quite picture-some. This spot is a perfect spot to spend an afternoon with family and friends even if one is not interested to go bushwalking. Also from this place the Greene falls circuit starts , which is a 4.3km easy grade walk with not so difficult gradients. We took an hour of walking at a leisure pace to reach the falls and enjoyed it. The Greene falls is a decent sized waterfalls, nothing spectacular , but still good in its own right.

Once back from the walk we had our lunch and relaxed by the grasslands of the picnic area. The next stop was the Wivenhoe Dam which is the source of drinking water for the city of Brisbane. Enroute to this place we also came across a lookout area up in the hills having a birds eye view of the entire Wivenhoe dam catchment area. We went upto the dam and to one of the visitor centers. From here one can get into water and enjoy the pristine water of the dam. Overall a great place to visit on an unplanned weekend.

June 3, 2017

Springbrook is the one of the most well known part of the ancient Gondavana rainforest and listed as a world heritage site. In this forest the route through the hinterland of the Gold Coast is the most enjoyable part of the journey.

Our first stop was the Purling Brook falls. The viewpoint for this falls is just a few 100 metres from the parking area. We parked our car and went to the viewing platform saw the falls dropping into a deep canyon. There is even a 4km walking circuit which goes all the way to the bottom of the falls and is considered a bit strenuous. Since the amount of water was less, it was not attractive enough for us to go all the way down to the base of the falls. This falls would definitely look majestic soon after heavy rains.

Near the falls are 2 lookout points. The first is the Canyon lookout which is just off the road and gives great views of the city of Gold Coast. The lookout is literally named as "The Best Of All Lookouts" and requires a 10 min walk from the parking area. This route takes one through some ancient forest and also one comes across ancient Antarctic Beech trees along the way. The best of all lookouts looks into the state of New South Wales and lives up to its namesake.

The next stop was the natural bridge, wherein the water falls through a natural hole having an awesome cavelike setting. This natural cave is also home to glowworms and certain guided tours are conducted after sunset. There is a walking track which took us first inside the cave , then above it from where one can see the water entering the hole and then back. It was a very good place to explore.

On our way back we stopped at Hinze Dam, which is the source of water for the city of Gold Coast and a pleasant place to visit. One can literally walk for miles on the embankment with water and greenery on one side. There are even some barbeque and play areas. After this it was time to return back home.